Coins of King Henri III

Les Derniers Valois

The Last Valois
Kings of France

King Henri III

Coins with King Henri III's Image

For clarity, the least worn coins are displayed, not necessarily the most representative.

Every country had its own mint(s) and the coinage was of different denominations eg the soldo in Ferrara and the ecu in France.

But, France was a large country, and there was no single mint in France at the time. At least tehy used the same denomination, but their coins had no standard look.

Each region issued its own coins based on iconography different from other coins of the the same year, i.e. there was no standard image of the king in any given year. Compare his father's and brother's coins.

Henri is invariably shown from the right side, while his brother Charles is shown from the opposite one. Henri favored the right side, because - as a child - he suffered from a nasal fistula on the left.

Medal by Germain Pilon, 1575

Note the shaggy beard on the period medal.

http://www.chateaudeblois.fr/?Fetes-et-crimes-a-la-Renaissance

Grooming

Henri's beard may be shaggy on his coins, while it was meticulously manicured in his oil portraits, another item for which he was so criticized...

His hair, on coins, is "buzz cut" and brushed away from his forehead, arguably the hair has been coiffed with hot metal curlers to achieve the look, but this is not the ginormous upstanding en ratepenade, another item for which he was so criticized...

1577 Coin

Source: Wikipedia

Mystery

See the 1587 demi franc with a flat collar of sorts

Earrings

Yes, some of the coins do show his famous pendeloque pear shaped pearl earring. It appears much smaller than in his oil portraits

I am not certain whether he had both ears pierced, or just one, since no single portrait shows both ears simultaneously.

Many portraits "from the other side" are actually in error due to flipped photographic negatives or the use of a camera obscura to replicate original images.

A Spanish ambassador remarked that he wore two earrings "like women

It is known that he had two holes in at least one (right?) ear. This is clearly visible on some of his contemporary portraits.

In any case, recall that earrings were used much differently in the 16th century. Women barely wore them for some time before 1550, since they wore French hoods (kokoshnik-like tiaras of velvet) that hid the ears from view. Catherine de Medici almost never wore earrings except prior to her widowhood.